CIHM 

Microfiche 

Series 

({Monographs) 


ICMH 

Collection  de 
microfiches 
(monographies) 


Canadian  Inatitut.  for  Historical  Microraproductlon.  /  Instltut  Canadian  da  microraproductlon.  historiquas 


996 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes  /  Notes  technique  at  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best  original 
copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this  copy  which 
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the  images  in  the  reproduction,  or  which  may 
significantly  change  the  usual  method  of  filming  are 
checked  below. 

F/j     Coloured  covers/ 
' — '     Couverture  de  couleur 

I     I      Covers  damaged  / 

— '      Couverture  endommagee 

I     1      Covers  restored  and/or  laminated  / 
Couverture  restauree  et/ou  pellicula 

I     I      Cover  title  missing /Letitrede  couverture  manque 

I     [     Coloured  maps  /  Cartes  geographiques  en  couleur 

r^     Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)  / 

Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

pq     Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrattons  / 
Planches  et/ou  Illustrations  en  couleur 

r~]      Bound  with  other  material  / 

Relie  avec  d'autres  documents 

I     I      Only  edition  available  / 
' — '      Seule  edition  disponible 

I  [  Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin  /  La  reliure  serree  peut 
causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la  distorsion  le  long  de 
la  marge  interieure. 

[  I  Blank  leaves  added  during  restoratrons  may  appear 
within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these  have 
been  omitted  from  filming  /  II  se  peut  que  certaines 
pages  blanches  ajoutees  lors  d'une  restauration 
apparaissent  dans  le  texte,  mais,  iorsque  cela  etait 
possible,  ces  pages  n'ont  pas  ete  filmies. 


L'Institut  a  microfilme  le  meilleur  examplaire  qu'il  lui  a 
ete  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details  de  cet  exem- 
plaire  qui  sont  peut-etre  uniques  du  point  de  vue  bibli- 
ographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier  une  image  reproduite, 
ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une  modifications  dans  la  m6th- 
ode  normale  de  filmage  sont  indiqu6s  ci-dessous. 

I     [      Coloured  pages/ Pages  de  couleur 

I     [      Pages  damaged  /  Pages  endommagees 

rn      Pages  restored  and/or  laminated  / 
Pages  restaurees  et/ou  pelllcuiees 

[\7[      Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed  / 
Pages  decolor6es,  tachetees  ou  piquees 

r~]      Pages  detached  /  Pages  detachees 

r^    Showthrough  /  Transparence 

I     1      Quality  of  print  varies  / 

— '      Qualite  inhale  de  I'impression 


D 


D 


Includes  supplementary  material  / 
Comprend  du  materiel  supplementaire 

Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
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ensure  the  best  possible  image  /  Les  pages 
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a  nouveau  de  fa9on  a  obtenir  la  meilleure 
image  possible. 

Opposing  pages  with  varying  colouration  or 
discolourations  are  filmed  twice  to  ensure  the 
best  possible  image  /  Les  pages  s'opposant 
ayant  des  colorations  variables  ou  des  decol- 
orations sont  film6es  deux  tois  afin  d'obtenir  la 
meilleur  image  possible. 


D 


Additional  comments  / 
Commentaires  supplementaires: 


This  ittm  is  f ilmad  at  tht  raduction  ratio  chacfcad  balow/ 

Ce  documant  ast  f  iime  au  uux  de  raduction  indiqiia  ci-dassous. 


10X 


14X 


CT 


18X 


12X 


1CX 


J 


20X 


22X 


26X 


XX 


24X 


EE 


28X 


32X 


The  copy  filmad  hare  has  bean  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

Dana  Porter  Arts  Library 
Univanity  of  Watarioo 

The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  In  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


L'exemplaire  film*  fut  reproduit  grAce  i  la 
gAnArositi  de: 

Dana  Porter  Arts  Library 
University  of  Waterloo 

Les  images  suivantes  ont  M  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  nettetA  de  l'exemplaire  film*,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 


Origlnel  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  Illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  Impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  Illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  -^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  ▼  (meening  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


Les  exemplalres  orlglnaux  dont  la  couvarture  en 
papier  est  ImprlmAe  sont  filmto  en  commenpant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  solt  par  la 
dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impresslon  ou  d'illustration,  solt  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplalres 
orlglnaux  sont  filmte  an  commandant  par  la 
premiere  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impresslon  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernlire  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dernlAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  — »>  signlfie  "A  SUIVRE' .  la 
symbols  ▼  signlfie  "FIN". 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  retlos.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  In  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  end  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  Illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tablaeux,  etc.,  peuvent  Atre 
fllmte  A  des  taux  de  rMuctlon  dIffArents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  cllchA,  II  est  film*  A  partir 
de  Tangle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  i  droite. 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'Images  nAcessalre.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
lllustrant  la  m^thoda. 


1  2  3 


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5 

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MIOOCOfY   RfSOlUTION  TEST  CHART 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


A  APPLIED  IN/HGE    Inc 

^^  1653  East  Main  Strmt 

^a  Rochester,  Na»  York        14609      USA 

^S  (716)  482  -  0300  -  Phone 

^S  (716)  288  -  5989  -  Fox 


WHAT  HAS  THE  CHURCH 
MEANTTOME?    IT  HAS 
MEANT    THE    AGENCY 
THROUGH    WHICH    I    RE- 
CEIVED   SUCH    SPIRIT- 
UAL SIGHT  AS   I   HAVE  •  IT 
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IN     WEAKNESS     MANY 
TIMES,  COMFORT  IN  TRIAL 
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WHAT    THE    CHURCH 
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WHAT  THE  CHURCH 
MEANS  TO  ME 

A   FRANK    CONFESSION   AND    A 
FRIENDLY  ESTIMATE  BY  AN  INSIDER 

BY  11 

WILFRED  T.  GRENFELL,  M.D.  (Oxon.) 

Superintendent  Labrador  Medical  Mittion  |  f 


n/ 


THE    PILGRIM    PRESS 

BOSTON  NEW  TOBK        CmCAGO 


**  iiJiMI%iHi 


Copyright,  1911 
By  Wilfbed  T.  Grenfeu. 


THE  •  PLIMPTON  •  PRESS 

[  W  D'O] 
NORWOOD  •  KASS  •  O  •  S  •  A 


WHAT    THE    CHURCH 
MEANS    TO    ME 


I« 


i 


WHAT  THE  CHURCH 

MEANS  TO  ME 


1  HE  Church  to  me  means  all  who, 
consciously  or  unconsciously,  are  for- 
warding God's  kingdom  on  earth.  In 
the  broad  definition  of  the  Master  it 
means  "all  those  who  are  not  against 
us."  The  way  in  which  men  associate 
for  worship,  or  in  which  they  consider 
it  most  remunerative  to  invest  their 
efforts  to  forward  the  kingdom,  gives 
them  no  right  to  arrogate  to  themselves 
the  title  of  God's  Church.  Any  body 
of  men  sajnng,  "We  are  the  Church," 
seems  to  me  ridiculous. 

If  they  try  to  exclude  at  the  same 
time  those  who  approach  their  Maker, 
or  who  are  endeavoring  to  do  faithfully 
the  things  Christ  would  approve,  only 
in  some  other  way,  then  they  become 
offensive  also.  I  am  firmly  convinced 
the  world  is  coming  to  this  view,  and  I 

[7] 


y. 


WHAT  THE  CHURCH 

am  glad  it  is  already  beginning  to  ex- 
press it.  Through  "the  Church"  the 
salvation  of  the  world  must  come.  I 
have  no  use  whatever  for  the  critip 
whose  heart  is  set  on  her  destruction 
or  who  muckrakes  it  for  a  revenue.  3y 
this  I  mean  the  Church  Invisible,  known 
only  to  God's  Holy  Spirit. 

Standards  which  Christ  would 
Condemn 

The*  "offense"  of  the  visible  churches 
that  tells  most  against  them  today  in 
the  minds  of  educated  men  is  not  world- 
liness  or  unfaithfulness;  it  is  their  inabil- 
ity to  shake  off  their  untenable  position 
as  judges  of  others.  The  "Church"  in 
Jesus'  day  judged  him  unfit  to  live. 
Upon  Luther,  Wesley,  and  many  of  the 
best  servants  of  the  human  race  the 
churches  to  which  they  belonged  passed 
similar  sentences.  Even  the  sugges- 
tion of  the  "holding-up-of -skirts,"  of 
this  "  I-am-holier-than-thou  "  attitude, 
because  I  think  differently,  is  repel- 
lent and  has  not  yet  met  the  fate  that 
certainly  awaits  it,  before  there  cah  be 

[81 


MEANS  TO  ME 

a   reign   of   universal   peace.     Science 
has  taught  us  that  doubt,  quite  as  much 
as  faith,  leads  to  the  apprehension  of 
truth.    There  are  countless  men,  skilled 
in  the  exact  sciences  and  in  scholarship, 
possessed  of  wealth  and  rank,  »vho  find 
it  impossible  to  define  their  position  in 
words,  yet  whose  humility  and  charity 
make  us  love  them,  whose  deeds  are 
just  such  as  those  which  have  come  down 
the  ages  as  Jesus*  own  selection  for  the 
most  convincing  evidence  of  his  Sonship 
of  God.    We  all  know  today  men  of 
inferior  attainments  and  lives  who  not 
only  know  themselves  to  be  infallible, 
but  hiven't  the  grace  to  kave  even 
such  men  alone,  and  who  have  inter- 
preted their  call  to  the  "ministry"  as 
simply  a  mandate  to  set  every  one  else 
intellectually  right.     I  know  that  that 
which  is  hidden  from  the  wise  can  be 
revealed  to  babes,   and  that  our  tal- 
ents— namely,  social   position,  wealth, 
and  brains  —  merely  enlarge  in  God's 
sight  our  capacity  for  service,  and  there- 
fore our  responsibility.     But  I  know  also 
that  the  prizes  of  our  high  calling  can 
be  purchased  only  by  our  fidelity  in 

[9] 


WHAT  THE   CHURCH 

following,  and  that  involves  other  than 
intellectual  processes. 

Toe  Case  of  the  Working  Man 

As  for  the  working  man,  to  my  mind 
if  he  doesn't  join  j     isible  church  today 
it  is  simply  because  tie  doesn't  see  any 
good    in    it.     The    teachings    of    the 
Church's  Master  still  appeal  to  him. 
but  the  churches  to  him   don't  stand 
for   them.    He    has    seen    the    visible 
churches,     organized     to     perpetuate 
Christ's  teaching,  striving  for  centuries 
only    after    privilege,    patronage,    and 
political  power.   Was  ever  such  a  topsy- 
turvyism?    Instead  of  being  a  bridge 
over  the  great  gulf  between  werJth  and 
poverty,  the  Church  still  savors  to  him 
too  much  of  the  "be  content  where  you 
are"  sentinent.    To  him  she  is  insin- 
i^re,  and  consequently  his  pew  is  empty. 
He  doesn't  want  an  insurance  agency 
only  for  the  next  world;  he    vants  a 
kingdom    of    righteousness,    joy,    and 
peace,  first  in  this  world,  where  Christ 
intended  it  to  be,  as  well  as  in  the  next. 
Church  authority  can  no  longer  com- 
pel his  interest;  she  cannot  compete  as 
110] 


MEANS  TO  ME 

a  popular  entertainer;  only  the  proof 
of  her  unselfish  love  in  matters  of 
everyday  life  can  save  her  from  becom- 
ing a  useless  hulk,  stranded  on  the  beach 
of  time.  Rainsford.  Stelzle,  and  others 
have  shown  that  the  downtown  churches 
need  not  close  if  the  message  is  given  in 
Christ's  own  undeniable  way  which 
the  people  can't  misunderstand. 

Though  I  do  see  the  various  churches 
just  beginning  to  rouse  themselves  — 
no  longer  wholly  absorbed  in  making 
eve^  one   say  "shibboleth"  with   an 
h,     still  just  as  in  politics  the  party 
machine  becomes  God,  crushing  truth 
and  nghteousness  before  it,  so  the  church 
machine  is  only  too  often  a  Jugger- 
naut's car.  destroying  all  faith  in  God 
and  man.    The  machine  has  usurped 
the  pedestal  of  Christ,  as  in  Rome  and 
Russia,    and    nearer    home,    if    Judge 
Ijndsey  of  Denver  is  to  be  believed. 
For  there  the  very  clergy  of  145  out  of 
150  churches  refused  to  come  out  boldly 
against  dives  and  brothels  that  were 
defiling  the  girls  and  boys  of  the  city 
of    Denver,    because    they    dared    not 
endanger  the  interests  of  their  machine. 
Ul] 


WHAT  THE   CHURCH 


Vox  populi  was  right.  They  were 
presumably  afraid  to  take  up  the  cross, 
which  real  fighting  the  devil  involves 
as  much  today  as  it  did  in  Judea  cen- 
turies ago.  Many,  outside  all  churches, 
support  hospitals,  orphanages,  soup 
kitchens,  relief  funds,  and  so  forth. 
Big  corporations  and  even  heathen 
armies  on  the  war  path  support 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  work,  because  that  is  a 
demonstratively  valuable  working  fac- 
tor. The  church  which  is  afraid  of 
offending  rich  members  cannot  have  a 
faith  in  God  which  is  worth  anything. 

Thank  God  for  all  the  illustrations 
of  her  direct  watchful  vitality  that  she 
does  show.  As,  for  instance,  when  the 
Christian  Endeavorers  fought  the  ques- 
tion of  prize-fight  moving-picture  shows 
and  won  out  —  or  when  a  Parkhurst 
fought  bravely  for  a  clean  police  force. 
Even  if  the  world  today  does  not  vex 
itself  so  much  as  formerly  about  pre- 
destination, original  sin,  the  "actual 
presence,"  or  even  the  correct  mental 
attitude  to  insure  heaven  hereafter,  the 
churches  may  surely  count  it  as  a  prod- 
uct of  their  work  that  the  people  do 
[12] 


MEANS  TO    ME 

trust  God  more  simply  for  the  past  and 
future,  and  are  more  in  earnest  about 
securing  justice  for  the  downtrodden 
and  the  square  deal  in  the  present. 
In  this  they  need  as  much  as  ever  the 
Church's  leading. 

What  Makes  the  Church 
Attractive 

That    which    attracts    to    a    church 
today  is  not  higher  criticism,  elaborate 
ritual,   hair-splitting  creeds,   but  fear- 
less fighting  for  public  health,  for  good 
government,  for  righteous  labor  condi- 
tions,  for  clean  courts  of  justice.     It 
was  the  leader  of  a  darky  revival  who, 
when  asked  why  he  didn't  sometimes 
read  the  Old  Testament,  replied:  "No, 
sah.     Dem  commandments  just  upset 
de  whol'  revival."    There  is  no  need 
that    taking    up    politics    and    social 
questions  should  exclude  the  preaching 
of  the  Christ.     Men  will  follow  today 
a  Engsley  and  a  Maurice,  a  Lincoln, 
a  Beecher,  a  Brooks,  or  a  Worcester  as 
they  will  a  Heney,  a  Hughes,  or  a  Polk 
or  any  man  in  whom  they  see  plainly 
[13J 


hi 

n 


WHAT  THE   CHURCH 


li  < 


reflected    the    unselfish    love    of     the 
Christ. 

Who  cares,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  which 
way  these  men  said  their  prayers? 
They  may  have  been  Catholic  or  Prot- 
estant, or  in  honest  doubt,  but  we  love 
them  and  will  follow  them.  To  us  they 
stand  for  real  love  to  man,  and  so  real 
faith  in  God;  for  true  pluck  and  will- 
ingness to  take  up  their  cross.  Oh,  if 
every  member  oi  the  churches  and 
every  .wearer  of  "the  cloth"  realized 
the  privilege  of  standing  by  every  up- 
lifting effort,  and  was  always  so  valiant 
for  truth  as  to  make  a  Rueff  or  any 
agent  of  the  devil  occasionally  think 
it  worth  while  to  take  the  risk  of  trying 
to  kill  them — as  in  the  case  of  this  same 
Lincoln,  of  Heney,  of  Lindsey,  and  of 
the  Master — the  world  would  recognize 
then  that  the  Church  was  worth  while, 
and  there  would  be  no  discussing 
whether  it  was  going  to  die  out  or  not. 
A  littl  physical  shooting  wouldn't  hurt 
the  Church.  The  world  wants  a  Church 
Militant,  not  a  backboneless  intellectual- 
ism.  Only  the  "great  Church  victori- 
ous" can  be  the  "Church  at  rest." 
[14] 


1 


MEANS  TO  ME 

Nowhere  is  this  fact  more  unanswer- 
ably demonstrated  than  in  the  mission- 
ary field.     Faithlessness  in  this  respect 
and   fearfulness  of    expenditure,   both 
of     men    and    money    in     missionary 
work,  have  always  stood  in  any  church 
for  choked  channels  of  spiritual  power, 
and     subsequently     spelled     anaemia, 
atrophy,  and  death.     Constant  metabo- 
lism  is    IS  essential   for   spiritual   life 
as  physical.     A  church  must  die  that 
doesn't  use  up  and  give  out  energy  as 
surely  as  a  physical  body.    The  period 
of  latent  physical  life  is  not  long.     God 
in   his   mercy  has   seemed   to  prolong 
latent  spiritual   life  almost  unduly  in 
the  case  of  some  churches.     Those  who 
love  the  Church  are  breathing  a  little 
more  freely  because  of  the  Laymen's 
Missionary  Movement. 

Lack  of  Clearness 

To  me  personally  it  is  hard  to  know 
exactly  what  the  Church  has  meant; 
it  is  hard  to  "know  one's  self."  The 
attitude  of  practically  all  men's  minds 
is  to  excuse  their  own  shortcomings  by 
attributing  the  cause  elsewhere.  Thus 
[15] 


WHAT  THE  CHURCH 


Paddy  blames  the  Government  for  the 
hole  in  his  trousers,  j.ist  as  he  does  ft  r 
the  typhoid  resulting  from  the  dump 
heap.in  front  of  his  own  door.  When  I 
first  essayed  to  write  on  this  subject,  I 
several  times  tore  up  the  manuscript, 
feeling  that  I  had  written  that  which 
was  calculated  to  rend  her  at  whose 
breast  my  o\\T1  spirit  had  first  found 
life-giving  sustenance  and  afterwards 
wisdom,  encouragement,  and  aid. 

Yet.  history  seems  plainly  to  show  that 
there  have  been  times  when  the  world 
would  have  been  more  Christian  if  the 
organizations  to  which  men  often  limit 
the  name  of  church  had  ceased  to  exist. 
I  presume  the  experience  we  have  all 
had  with  organizations  calling  them- 
selves "the  Church"  has  driven  us,  at 
times  at  least,  to  the  same  conclusions 
in  our  own  day  about  those  partic- 
ular branches.  But  this  bears  no  refer- 
ence to  the  body  of  men  who  love 
Christ  better  than  their  own  lives. 
They  are  really  the  Church,  and  mean 
everything  to  me,  to  the  world  outside, 
and  to  all  aspirants  to  the  dignity  of 
the  name  of  Christian. 
[161 


MEANS   TO  ME 

Organizations  Essential 

The  visible  Church  stands  to  me  above 
all  else  as  appointed  of  God  for  all  that 
organization  means  in  the  attainment 
of  any  other  object.  Atmospheric  re- 
ligion is  desirable,  but  to  progress,  to 
permanence,  organization  is  essential. 
Moreover,  being  conscious  of  the  idio- 
syncrasy of  the  human  mind,  I  have 
every  use  for  the  various  communions 
if  no  man  is  to  be  excluded. 

But  I  look  on  one  and  all  simply  as 
a  means  to  an  end,  and  as  agencies,  not 
entities.   Theoretically  there  is  no  reason 
why  they  should  not  love  one  another. 
Alas!  they  haven't  always  done  so.    A 
large  membership  of  ineffective  persons 
may  be  only  an  incubus.     Like  sailors 
on  my  vessel,  if  they  are  incompetent 
they  are  a  hindrance,  and  in  every  way 
expensive    and    undesirable.     I    never 
care   to   emphasize   the   large   number 
that  tiie  crew  of  my  hospital  ship  con- 
sists of.     As  long  as  I  can  do  the  work 
I  take  pride  in   the  small   number  I 
can  handle  it  with.     It  is  far  better 
for  the  individuals  themselves  to  have 
[17J 


WHAT  THE  CHURCH 

more  responsibility  and  see  clearly  the 
result  of  their  own  handiwork.  They 
feel  also,  then,  that  it  is  more  important 
to  be  ready  at  all  calls,  and  when  at 
it  they  will  work  far  more  keenly. 
History  proves  that  when  Constantino 
filled  the  Eastern  Church  with  nominal 
Christians  he  led  directly  to  its  down- 
fall. Yet  one  of  the  most  difficult 
things  I  have  had  to  learn  is  that  relig- 
ious people  find  it  impossible  to  be- 
lieve that  others  do  not  care  one  iota 
whether  a  man  is  labeled  a  Methodist 
or  an  EpiscopaHan.  I  certainly  do  not, 
and  I  do  not  believe  God  does. 

Christ  Counts,  not  Creeds 

I  sat  in  a  small,  mean  little  cabin  on 
our  coast  some  time  ago  while  a  trained 
nurse  from  New  York  washed  a  sick 
baby  and  taught  the  mother  how  to 
save  the  poor  little  mite's  life.  It  was 
that  gentlewoman's  ministry  for  Jesus 
Christ.  For  the  privilege  she  was  pay- 
ing her  own  expenses  and  receiving  no 
salary.  If  ever  I  realized  the  Master 
standing  by  in  my  life  it  was  then  and 
there  in  the  semi-darkness  of  that  hut. 
[18] 


MEANS  TO  ME 

That  kind  of  ministry  never  fails  to  grip 
the  laboring  man.    An  hour  later,  as 
I  spoke  to  a  preacher  about  this  angel 
of  mercy,  he  said.  "Yes,  but  it  is  a 
pity  she  is  a  Roman  Catholic."    Yes, 
it  is  hard,  this  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.' 
It  will   bring  her  no  praise  of  men. 
Yet  it  was  such  sermons  as  this  nurse's 
that  Jesus  thought  it  worth  while  wast- 
ing his  time  on,  when  the  world  lacked 
theology  far  more  than  it  does  today 
Those  sermons  of  his  in  their  modest 
settmgs  have  been  the  most  brilliant 
of  the  world's  possessions  ever  since. 
I  think  the  Church  grades  her  preachers 
wrongly.    There  is  no  failure  of  Christ's 
aims.    His    message   is    bearing   fruit 
m    the   hearts   of    many   men    whom 

the-necessary-to-define-your-mental-at- 
titude  school  would  rule  out  of  the 
kingdom.  Even  Elijah  made  a  mis- 
take m  the  matter  of  how  many  ser- 
vants God  had. 

Usefulness  the  Supreme  Test 
These  divisions  of  the  Church  mean 
to  me  cargo  vessels,  and  if  for  any  rea- 
son they  can't  carry,  they  should  go 
[19] 


( 


WHAT  THE  CHURCH 

out  of  commission.  If  one  is  beyond 
repair  or  the  type  has  been  superseded, 
it  should  go  out  permanently.  We  con- 
tinue to  run  old  three-deckers  for  fight- 
ing battles,  or  Columbian  caravels  for 
freighting  purposes.  It  appears  to  some 
to  cause  a  temporary  setback  to  fight- 
ing eflSciency  to  send  a  once  serviceable 
ship  to  the  scrap  heap,  but  it  is  the  best 
and  cheapest  in  the  end.  In  the  North 
Sea  fishery  I  saw  hundreds  of  sailing 
craft  that  had  helped  to  make  fortunes, 
that  had  kept  the  markets  full,  and  that 
still  had  years  of  life,  laid  up,  and  then 
sold  practically  for  old  junk.  Why? 
Simply  because  swift  steam-trawlers  had 
been  found  to  do  the  work  better. 

These  sub-organizations,  as  far  as  I 
am  concerned,  are  existing  merely  to 
help  men  to  work  in  the  spiritual  field. 
They  are  not  like  some  yachts,  just  to 
carry  bunting  and  paint  to  be  admired. 
As  for  church  aflSliation,  what  I  like  to 
see  is  a  hungry  man  going  where  he 
will  be  fed  and  get  strength.  I  trust 
it  does  not  seem  flippant  to  say  that  I 
look  on  all  church  organizations  in  the 
same  way,  and  that  the  tradition  of  a 
[20] 


i! 


MEANS  TO  ME 

long  past  suggests  to  me  the  inefficiency 
of  a  dotage,  quite  as  much  as  the  stim- 
ulating aroma   of  potency   which,   as 
in  the  case  of  some  wines,  can  only  be 
acquired  by  the  lapse  of  time.    Some 
will  say  that  this  Modernism  has  no 
sense  of  obligation,  no  sense  of  venera- 
tion, makes  no  allowance  for  the  idio- 
syncrasies of  others.    Well,  that  may 
be  so.     I  may  plead,  on  the  contrary, 
that  what  we  call  the  ancient  Church 
was  the  youthful  Church.     The  Church 
of  the  twentieth  century  is  the  ancient, 
grown-up  Church. 

The  Building  Itself,  Pro  and  Con 

Experience  has  convinced  me  that 
bricks  and  mortar  and  sectarian  loy- 
alty have  more  often  been  hindrances 
than  helps  to  that  expression  of  faith  in 
him  which  Jesus  looks  for  in  our  lives. 
I  admit  I  have  not  lived  long  enough 
in  one  place  fully  to  appreciate  the  pos- 
sibilities for  stimulus  and  help  this 
tying  up  into  bundles  can  afford.  On 
the  other  hand,  I  feel  so  certain  that 
buildings  set  aside  for  pubhc  worship 
are  essential  in  every  place,  that  where 
1211 


WHAT  THE  C  "URCH 


i 


i 


1 


none  exists  I  feel  wretched,  and  I  have 
shares  in  quite  a  number  all  along  our 
Labrador  coast. 

I  love  to  wander  through  an  ancient 
edifice  in  which  generations  of  men  have 
come  and  worshiped  and  found  help 
and   comfort.    I   like   loclcing   at   the 
Viking  ship,  but  I  don't  want  to  cross 
the  Atlantic  in  it.    Personally,  I  like  to 
hear,  to  see,  and  to  understand.    The 
dim  religious  light  and  sonorous  sounds 
do  not  waken  me  to  a  keener  sense  of 
the  call  of  God  to  be  up  and  doing, 
hey  just  make  me  sleepy.    Besides 
being  diflBcult  as  a  rule  to  hear,  there  is 
too  much  around  to  distract  my  atten- 
tion.   I  don't  think  Westminster  Abbey 
helps  me  personally  to  attend  to  the 
service.    On  the  contrary,  I  think  it 
makes   me  think  of   the  building.    I 
used  somehow  to  imagine  that  service 
in  the  open  air  was  necessarily  asso- 
ciated with  cant.    Now  I  like  it  far 
the   best.    Not   merely   because   it   is 
more   sanitary  —  till  some   one  learns 
how   to  ventilate  a  building   decently 
—  but  because  it  absolutely  forces  you 
to  feel  insignificant,  and  anxious  that 
[22] 


! 


MEANS  TO    ME 


I 


the  great  Creator  should  condescend  to 
care  about  a  mosquito  like  you.     More- 
over, I  have  often  noticed  out  in  the 
open  a  unity  between  those  of  different 
sects    that    was    perfectly    delightful. 
Meanwhile  I  am  not  unmindful  that  in 
many,  if  not  in  all,  a  deep  inborn  spir 
itual  craving,  no  child  of  philosophy,  is 
a  powerful  factor  in  helping  men  God- 
ward.    Also  that  many  find  their  only 
help  in  authority  and  the  faith  of  others. 
iVll  these  the  Church  has  to  provide  for. 
It]  is  no  easy  task  to  be  prophet  and 
conservative   custodian    at   the    same 
time. 

The  New  and  Better  Spirit 

One  great  trouble  with  tying  one's 
self  to  any  one  church,  from  my  peri- 
patetic point  of  view,  has  always  been 
the  fact  that  so  many  other  churches 
say,  "If  you  are  not  one  of  us,  you  are 
against  us."  It  is  almost  too  personal 
to  illustrate  this  from  my  own  somewhat 
sad  experience  in  my  early  days,  but 
every  worker  in  wide  fields  must  have 
felt  it.  Jesus  had  specially  to  rebuke 
his  own  disciples  for  forbidding  any 
[23] 


IPI 


WHAT  THE  CHURCH 

man  from  casting  out  devils.  For 
whatever  his  opinions,  he  must  be  on 
our  side. 

Thank  God  there  is  a  new  spirit 
entering  the  churches,  a  larger  spirit! 
Only  those  can  survive  eventually  who 
cultivate  it.  A  spirit  that  wants  to 
use  every  effort  to  raise  humanity,  and 
seeks  a  return  for  its  outstretched  hand, 
solely  in  the  fact  that  it  thereby  grasps 
more  of  those  of  "his  brethren." 

The  Only  Right  Wat  to  Grow 

This  is  the  way  for  a  church  to  grow. 
The  more  it  exercises  its  muscles  in 
pulling  men  out  of  their  pits,  the  more 
dexterous,  powerful,  and  altogether  de- 
sirable it  will  be,  because  the  world  \v  v) 
need  it,  and  it  will  no  longer  appeal 
only  to  those  who  prefer  its  form  of 
worship  or  have  a  bias  towards  its 
particular  church  polity.  The  law  of 
demand  and  supply  should  be  recog- 
nized as  applying  equally  to  the  church 
as  to  other  agencies.  The  desire  to  be 
needed,  to  find  work,  and  not  merely 
to  be  a  big  party  product  can  alone 
develop   communions   able  to   remove 

[24] 


i: 


MEANS  TO  ME 


ii 


the  stigma  of   being   cither   parasites 
or  fads. 

If  a  church  is  really  anxious  to  fulfil 
its  functions  as  set  down  in  the  only 
book  of  instructions  for  each  of  them; 
if  it  wants  to  call  forth  latent  energy, 
as  a  Washington  from  his  homestead, 
or  a  Lincoln  from  his  farm,  it  must 
cease  to  lay  stress  on  orthodoxy  and 
get  to  work  where  the  world  really 
needs  it.  A  surgeon  may  be  ever  so 
correct  in  his  knowledge  of  operative 
surgery,  but  he  must  find  a  practise 
or  he  is  useless.  It  is  not  so  much  for 
holding  services,  as  for  rendering  ser- 
vices, that  the  world  is  looking  to  the 
Church  today. 

Human  Need  the  True  Objecttvf 

Today  the  Church  should  not  only 
have  a  message  for  the  strong  and  well. 
In  Christ's  day  it  had  a  message  for 
the  sick  and  suflFering  also.  I  admit 
that  the  medical  profession  has  neg- 
lected too  much  the  influence  that  mind 
has  over  matter.  It  therefore  frequently 
endeavors  to  treat  a  human  being  as 
if  he  was  nothing  but  a  conglomeration 
[25J 


WHAT  THE   CHURCH 


i   I 


of  material  cells.  But  the  Church,  it 
seems  to  me,  is  making  an  infinitely 
more  serious  mistake  in  entirely  aban- 
doning the  valuable  aid  it  can  give  the 
physician  when  he  has  found  that  no 
organic  cause  accounts  for  the  symp- 
toms of  his  patient.  What  is  known  in 
America  as  the  Emmanuel  Movement 
has  my  entire  sympathy.  It  is  an 
honest  effort  of  sane  men  to  bring  to 
the  aid  of  physical  sufferers  demon- 
stratively valuable  spiritual  influences. 

The  Minister  only  a  Servant 

The  priest  or  minister  is  the  navigat- 
ing lieutenant  of  the  Church  ship.  He 
is  the  tactician  of  the  army.  He  is  the 
specialist  whose  experience  is  invalu- 
able. He  is  not  called  to  be  one  whit 
holier  than  I  am,  but  being  on  a  lofty 
pedestal  he  will  possibly  be  more  closely 
watched.  His,  indeed,  is  a  pitiable  con- 
dition if  he  has  not  the  spirit  of  his 
Master.  His  creed  may  seem  infal- 
lible, his  faith  most  orthodox,  but  for 
my  part  I  would  rather  not  be  so  sure 
of  what  I  did  believe,  and  pray  witn 
"the  man  after  God's  own  heart," 
[26] 


MEANS   TO   ME 

"Teach  me  to  rfo  the  thing  which  pleases 
thee.  This  is  a  sure  step  on  the  road 
to  the  answer  of,  "Lo-*-.  I  believe,  help 
thou  mine  unbelief.  I  airi  c .evinced 
there  would  be  no  i  lek  of  wor  hy  can- 
didates for  the  miuKVuy  i!  only  the 
churches  would  lay  more  stress  on  the 
mfinite  privilege  of  human  service  it 
opens  up.  There  are  more  medical 
students  than  are  needed. 

The  Futility  of  the  Intellectual 
Test 

Is  it  then  a  necessity,  or  an  advis- 
able thing,  that  before  a  man  can  be- 
come a  worker  with  the  Church  he  must 
pass  an  intellectual  test?    Is  it  impera- 
tive for  him  to  find  exactly  what  he 
does  not  believe?    That  makes  it  almost 
impossible  for  him  to  get  back  after- 
wards.   The  effect  on  the  unfortunate 
heathen  of  warring  messengers,  all  call- 
ing for  different  faith  tests  for  member- 
ship  in    Christ's   Church,   has   always 
seemed  to  me  little  short  of  disastrous. 
Ihe   theory   of   Christianity   wouldn't 
convmce   the   heathen   of   the   Congo 
[27] 


hi 


1)1 


WHAT  THE   CHURCH 

that  religion  is  desirable,  or  make  a 
Russian  Jew  wish  to  adopt  Russian 
Christianity.  The  same  applies  to  the 
Turkish  views  of  Austrian  Christianity, 
or  the  attitude  of  the  Indian  of  South 
America  towards  Christian  Spain.  As 
for  me,  I  am  satisfied  in  my  own  work, 
and  I  think  my  Master  was,  with  the 
faith  that  makes  a  man  anxious  and 
willing  to  come  and  help  me,  ever  be- 
lieving that  he  that  is  not  against  us 
is  on  bur  side. 

Joshua,  a  servant  of  God  if  ever  there 
was  one,  is  often  quoted  as  saying, 
"Decide,"  "Choose."  We  must  re- 
member that  what  he  said  was,  "Choose 
whom  you  will  serve,"  not  what  your 
final  belief  is  going  to  be.  Christ  never 
sought  for  admirers,  but  for  followers. 
The  most  voluble  protestants  of  their 
faith  in  Jesus  as  God's  Son  were  devils. 
They  knew  it,  but  benefited  little  by 
it.  Thank  God,  Jesus  never  made 
the  opposite  of  confessing  our  belief  in 
him  before  men  to  be  the  non-apprehen- 
sion of  his  divinity,  but  always  the 
denying  and  being  ashamed  of  his  ser- 
vice and  becoming  a  stumbling  block. 
[28] 


MEANS   TO   ME 

Though  I  know  what  a  wonderful  thing 
it  is,  as  a  source  of  power,  to  be  able  to 
confess  our  faith  in  Jesus  as  the  Son  of 
God,  and  what  infinite  peace  it  affords 
to  have  chat  confirmed  by  experience. 

The  shrewd  judgment  of  Wall  Street 
would  not  lend  a  man  ten  cents  because 
he  had  been  accepted  as  a  member  of 
a  church  on  confession  of  faith.     Often 
enough  members  of  the  same  church 
wouldn't  either,  although  they  probably 
both    would    to   a    doer,    like    Living- 
stone.    So  let  us  abandon  the  creed- 
judging  of  others.     Jesus  accepted  the 
following  of  the  adulterers,  publicans, 
and  the  harlots,  and  the  man  who  has 
honest  doubts  m-       -  a  Christ  follower 
or    a    Christian,  ever    says    the 

contrary. 


Banded  together  fob  Manly 
Service 

I  have  always  loved  to  think  of  Jesus 
Christ  and  to  commend  him  as  Master 
because  he  accepted  all  who  came — 
whether  for  comfort,  for  help,  or  for 
service.  When  a  man  sets  to  work  on 
[29] 


WHAT  THE   CHURCH 


!  s 


i  I 


•  ' 


the  road  that  leads  to  heaven  here,  he 
will  be  tasting  the  sweetness  of  the 
believing  that  involves  everlasting  life. 
In  our  Labrador  work  we  form  no 
church.  Our  fellow-workers  pray  and 
worship  in  every  denomination  as  the 
bias  of  their  mind  and  temperament 
leads  them  to  find  peace  and  comfort 
and  strength  best.  Yet  we  are  a  defi- 
nite body  associated  together  for  certain 
purposes.  These  we  believe  are  trans- 
lations into  action  of  our  interpreta- 
tion of  our  debt  to  God  and  to  our 
neighbor.  In  that  sense  are  we  not  a 
true  ecclesia? 

Will  it  horrify  my  readers  if  I  confess 
I  have  accepted  doctors  for  our  hos- 
pitals, nurses  for  our  districts,  and 
workers  of  every  type,  and  yet  have 
never  known  which  way  they  prefer 
to  worship?  Nor  have  I  ever  played  the 
censor  on  their  right  to  help  us  by  defin- 
ing what  they  ought  to  believe  before 
I  allowed  them  to  set  to  work.  Before 
a  member  joins  the  permanent  staflf 
we  must  know  he  is  in  absolute  sym- 
pathy with  our  aim  to  glorify  God  and 
serve  our  brother,  and  that  he  or  she 
[30] 


MEANS   TO   ME 


is  willing  to  give  their  best  for  that 
object.  But  that  is  all.  I  am  fear- 
less to  confess  that  I  would  enroll 
for  a  colleague  in  the  clinics,  which 
hold  in  their  hands  the  lives  of  my 
friends,  a  man  who  is  facile  princeps 
in  the  art  of  surgery  rather  than  a 
second-rate  surgeon  who  can  subscribe 
to  the  very  same  intellectual  tenets  as 
I  do  myself. 

Our  claim  to  be  capable  servants  of  our 
Master  and  reincarnations  of  his  life 
is  judged  in  our  little  world  by  the  good 
work  we  do;  if  as  surgeons  or  nurses, 
by  our  skill;  if  as  storekeepers  and  labor 
employers,  by  the  clean  deals  we  give. 
If  we  are  second-rate  in  our  work  all 
our  talking  won't  persuade  men  of  our 
fitness  for  our  position.  Securus  judi- 
cal orbis  terrarum —- and  to  my  mind 
God  seeks  first  men  diligent  in  business, 
fervent  in  spirit,  serving  the  Lord.   " 

All  the  sects  have  only  the  same  work 
for  the  same  Master  to  accomplisii;  it 
is  through  being  feilow-worker  s  and  not 
identical  thinkers  that  love  for  all  who 
love  Christ  must  come.  This  is  unity. 
The  camaraderie  of  a  fighting  force  is 
1311 


WHAT  THE   CHURCH 


/|;    I     I 


i    I 


not  disturbed  by  the  feeling  that  one  is 
of  the  cavalry,  another  of  the  infantry, 
a  third  of  the  artillery;  or  even,  as  has 
often  been  shown  in  warfare,  whether 
they  are  of  different  races,  climes,  or 
temperaments.  There  is  nothing  like 
common  work  to  beget  intelligent  love 
for  your  fellow. 

How  did  Christ  admit  his  members? 
By  their  profession  of  faith?  I  think 
not.  By  their  readiness  to  work?  Yes. 
Those  were  workers  he  chose,  every 
one  of  them.  Did  he  wait  until  they 
could  say  they  believed,  even  that  he 
was  God's  Son,  before  he  sent  them  out 
to  work?  Not  at  all.  He  said  if  you 
are  willing  to  go  out  and  work  you  will 
get  faith  by  working  and  seeing  others 
work. 

In  this  way  most  men  get  faith  now. 
The  empirical  method  is  the  very  best 
way  to  get  it  firmly  rooted.  Experi- 
entia  docet  "Now  we  believe,  not 
because  of  what  you  say,  but  because 
we  have  seen  for  ourselves."  Did  not 
Judas  work  with  Jesus?  Yet  it  is  ab- 
surd to  contend  that  Jesus  was  "un- 
equally yoked  with  unbelievers"  on 
[32] 


MEANS  TO    ME 

that  account.     At  the  end  of  Christ's 
life  only  Peter  seemed  even  to  guess 
who    he    was,    and    his    protestations 
were  not  even   the  asset   he  thought 
they  were.    For  a  few  minutes  after 
he  had   openly,   to   Christ's   face   and 
before    witnesses,    asserted    his    faith, 
Christ   called    him   "Satan"   and   told 
him  to  get  behind  him.     When  he  was 
in  trouble  they  every  one  ran  away. 
They    would    never    have    done    that 
from  a  handful  of  soldiers  if  they  had 
honestly  believed  he  was  the  very  Son 
of  God. 

To  sum  up,  What  has  the  Church 
meant  to  me?    It  has  meant  the  agency 
through  which  I  received  such  spiritual 
sight  as  I  have.     It  has  meant  the  body 
through  which  has  come  to  me  strength 
in   weakness   many   times,   comfort   in 
trial,  help  in  time  of  need.     Through  the 
Church  of  God,  which  Phillips  Brooks 
said  is  "the  kingdom  of  good  hearts 
united  in  love,"  have  come  the  talents 
to  use  in  the  work  to  which  my  life  is 
given.     When  I  want  more  help  it  is 
to  this  wide  Church  I  go  to  look  for 
it,  and  I  have  never  looked  in  vain 
[33] 


WHAT  THE   CHURCH 


If 


As  a  man  loves  the  members  of  his 
family,  so  I  love  the  Church  of  God. 
For  resources  it  stands  to  me  as  a  per- 
manent war  office  stands  to  an  army 
in  the  field.  Fine  uniforms  and  titles 
are  of  little  moment  as  compared  with 
wisdom  and  eflSciency  for  supplying 
men  and  sinews  for  war.  We  fully 
value  the  great  leaders  in  our  home 
country,  and  we  also  love  our  "Bobs" 
or  out  "Wellington"  because  when 
called  on  they  are  loilling  to  march  in 
the  front  rank  themselves. 

As  a  peripatetic  worker  myself  dur- 
ing open  water  in  my  little  hospital  ship, 
and  in  winter  with  dogs  and  sleigh,  I 
recognize  that  it  is  but  transient  help 
which  I  can  give  alone.  So  I  love  the 
little  hospitals,  which  speak  of  perma- 
nence. When  a  call  for  help  comes  for 
me,  often  enough  my  place  is  vacant. 
But  the  cheery  haven  of  refuge  is  always 
there. 

The  grip  of  fellowship  the  visible 
churches  give  us  on  our  homeland  visits 
is  a  real  factor  in  our  work.  It  makes 
them  real  sharers  in  it.  And  I  thank 
God  for  the  real  Church  of  God.  I 
[34] 


MEANS  TO  ME 

realize  as  never   before  how  essential 
that  ,s.     Besides  all  this,  she  stands  as 
a  great  reminder  of  God  to  the  world. 
Lest  we  forget.     Lest  we  forget." 
My  last  is  purely  a  private  confession, 
and  It  IS  this:  If  it  were  only  through 
a^ociation.  I  love  also  that  organiza- 
tion within  God's  Church  of  which  I 
am  myself  a   humble  member.     It  is 
because  I  love  it  I  am  willing  to  write 
exactly  as  I  feel.     For  I  love  it  enough 
to  wish  with  all  my  heart  and  soul  and 
strength  that   God    might   be  able  to 
use  It  to  a  fuller  capacity,  as  with  open 
eyes  and  unprejudiced  heart  and  with 
wisdom    developing    by   experience   it 
becomes  willing  to  see  that  it  also  must 
have  Its  scrap  heap,  or  its  museum  for 
honorable  antiquities,  on  which  to  lay 
aside   the   weights   that   are  impeding 
It  m  the  race,  which  are  crippling  its 
usefulness,  and  which  are  bound  even- 
tually to  destroy  it  if  it  blindly  con- 
tinues to  cling  to  them. 

The  qualification  for  life  eternal  is 

to  have  done  well.     The  final  test  is  to 

be  ethical,  not  theological.     I  expect  to 

tmd  more  roads  leading  into  the  Golden 

135] 


u 


\]f 


it 


WHAT  THE  CHURCH 

City  than  many  seem  even  to  wish  for. 
After  the  school  day  of  life  I  look  for 
an  ecclesia,  a  mighty  host,  called  out 
for  more  perfect  service.  My  ideal 
church  is  characterized  solely  by  the 
very  simplest  interpretation  of  the  old, 
old  story,  and  each  member  deserves 
the  name  of  the  "friend  of  all  the 
world." 


[36] 


■-S 


i 


H^ 


II 


m 


WHAT  HAS  THE  CHURCH 
MEANT  TO  ME?  IT  HAS 
MEANT  THE  AGENCY 
THRO^UGH  WHICH  I  RE- 
CEIVED SUCH  SPIRIT- 
UAL SIGHT  AS  I  HAVE  •  IT 
HAS  MEANT  THE  BODY 
THROUGH  WHICH  HAS 
COME  TO  ME  STRENGTH 
IN  WEAKNESS  MANY 
TIMES,  COMFORT  IN  TRIAL, 
HELP    IN    TIME     OF    NEED 


U! 


Bb 


MY  IDEAL  CHURCH  IS 
CHARACTERIZED  SOLELY 
BY  THE  VERY  SIMPLEST  IN- 
TERPRETATION OF  THE 
OLD,  OLD  STORY,  AND  EACH 
MEMBER  DESERVES  THE 
NAME  OF  THi^  "FRIEND 
OF    ALL    THE    WORLD" 


